Down at Dover their eyes will be on Farr South

• NEWS
• 21 Dec, 2005 01:06:00 PM

Down at Dover their eyes will be on Farr South

The village of Dover in the Huon Valley of southern Tasmania has a vested interest in this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. The aptly named yacht Farr South is representing the local Port Esperance Sailing Club and many townsfolk are sailing aboard in the ocean classic that starts next Monday.

The village of Dover in the Huon Valley of southern Tasmania has a vested interest in this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.  The aptly named yacht Farr South is representing the local Port Esperance Sailing Club and many townsfolk are sailing aboard in the ocean classic that starts next Monday.

Port Esperance Sailing Club is the southernmost yacht club in Australia and the yacht’s owner Ian Hall, who owns Driftwood Cottages at Dover,  has recruited other locals for the crew, the majority with extensive offshore racing and cruising experience.

While Ian and his wife Sue have financed Farr South’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Race campaign, all of the crew of 10 have worked over the past 12 months to get the Farr 36 ready for the rugged ocean. Major tasks have included the replacement of the rod rigging, a new motor, replacement of keel bolts and the prop shaft, new role clutches, a new stainless steel rudder shaft and new water tanks. In addition, all the mandatory safety equipment has been brought up to the requirements for a Category 1 race.

To prepare for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, Farr South also had to sail in the qualifying race, the 180 nautical Maria Island Race around the south-east coast of Tasmania,  as well as earlier sailing in the Bruny Island circumnavigation race.

“Ian’s policy has been to give everyone who has worked on preparing the boat for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race a chance to sail in the crew,” veteran sailor Bill Wright said in Sydney evening as he represented the crew at the Rolex Skippers Cocktail Party at the Cruising Yacht Club. 

Wright, aged 72 and the eldest member of the crew, has been sailing since a boy in England.  Filling the role of navigator, Bill has sailed in many long ocean racers and sailed his own 30-footer Mulberry across the Tasman. He also crewed on the Russian square-rigger Nadezha from Hobart to Fremantle.

Bill’s daughter Wendy, an Environmental Science lecturer at Monash University,  is also joining the crew, bringing the experience of two previous Rolex Sydney Hobarts, a circumnavigation of Tasmania and two Hobart to New Zealand passages.

Among the Dover ‘locals’ is Pete Reading, Dover’s resident horologist and ‘rookie’ crewmember, Josh Reid, son of Gordon and Sue from Dover Tourist Park and an experienced dinghy and offshore sailor, and fo’ard hand Calvin Walker whose parents run  the Southgate Supermarket at Dover.

Brett Coughlan,  a local builder and carpenter, lives aboard his 40-footer Waterwynch,  while local plumber Gavin Rigby will be one of two watch captains on Farr South.  The second watch captain is Martin Wohlgemuth,  wellknown as the owner and operator of the 100-year-oild Huon pine vessel Olive May.

Also joining the crew is former Dover resident Shane Fuit, who now lives in Queensland, and who will add extensive offshore experience to the crew.

“The boat is ready, the crew is ready and they are all looking forward to the challenge,” says owner/skipper Ian Hall, whose own record includes two Rolex Sydney Hobart Races, two Melbourne to Hobarts, and a circumnavigation of Tasmania.

Members of the Port Esperance Sailing Club and other local residents gave Farr South and her crew a farewell barbeque before they set sail on the delivery voyage to Sydney on 13 December, with the yacht arriving at the CYCA marina in Sydney six days later. – Peter Campbell